Nov. 8 - DURBAN, South
Africa (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabeis deliberately
starving opposition supporters to strengthen his grip onpower, one of the
country's Catholic leaders said on Friday.

Pius Ncube, Archbishop
of Zimbabwe's second city of Bulawayo, toldchurch leaders in the South
African port city of Durban that he believed 160people in his home province
of Matabeleland had already starved to death,and thousands more would die
next year.

"Men, women and children were, and still are, being
deliberatelystarved," he said, adding that Mugabe had embarked on a program
ofretribution against his opponents after his plans to change the
country'sconstitution were defeated in 2000.

"Mugabe is using
the food crisis in Zimbabwe to force people to votefor his party," Ncube
said, adding that only those with ZANU-PF ruling partycards were able to buy
food.

The European Union said on Thursday that Mugabe was using
food as apolitical weapon.

Half of Zimbabwe's 14 million people
are threatened with starvation,according to the United Nations World Food
Programme. However the WFP saysit has not heard any reports of people
starving to death in Matabeleland.

ZANU-PF denies that it has
politicized food distribution, and in turnaccuses some aid agencies of
sending more food relief to oppositionstrongholds.

Since Mugabe
won reelection to a fifth term in power in March thisyear, Zimbabwe has
spiraled deeper into its worst economic and politicalcrisis in 22 years of
independence. Mugabe has held the reins of power forall that
time.

"He (Mugabe) is clinging to power at the expense of people's
lives,"Ncube told Reuters in a telephone interview after his breakfast
speech. "Itis causing a lot of upset because there is no foreseeable end to
people'ssuffering."

"All this is being done to destroy the
opposition and cling ontopower, the arrests, the arson, torture and
selective distribution of foodall serve to keep the population under
control."

Ncube has spoken out against Mugabe before, most notably
since a 1980sarmy crackdown in Matabeleland which human rights groups say
left tens ofthousands of civilians dead.

Mugabe's ZANU-PF says
the Archbishop sympathizes with the oppositionMDC and should quit the
clergy.
BBC

Friday, 8 November, 2002, 19:40 GMT Defiant Zimbabwe bishop 'mad'

Up to six million Zimbabweans need food aid

Zimbabwe's
Information Minister, Jonathan Moyo, has described as "mad" the archbishop who
on Thursday urged President Robert Mugabe to stand down.

We
should feel some sympathy for that bishop because he does not need our
criticism, he needs our prayers

Jonathan Moyo Mr Moyo
denied that the government distributed food aid to its supporters only, saying
that more than half of the supplies had been handed out fairly in opposition
strongholds.

The Archbishop of Bulawayo, Pius Ncube, said Mr Mugabe's
controversial land reform programme was ruining the country's economy and
putting millions at risk of hunger.

He said black farm workers were the
real victims when white farms were handed over to government supporters.

'Mad utterings'

Mr Moyo dismissed Mgr Ncube's criticisms, saying
he was not fit to pass judgement on the government's policy.

Archbishop Ncube is a long-time Mugabe critic

"When a
bishop is mad, he is mad, and I don't think it is fair for you to ask me to
comment on the utterings of a mad bishop," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa
programme.

"I think we should feel some sympathy for that bishop because
he does not need our criticism, he needs our prayers, and we want to assure him
he has our prayers. We are praying for him."

Mr Moyo said that the
government had distributed 569,000 tonnes of grain across Zimbabwe, at least 54%
of which had been given through private milling companies to Harare and
Bulawayo, where the opposition is strong.

He dismissed the suggestion
that the bishop was only expressing what the people had told him, saying that
they had been sent by "British intelligence operatives".

"He is not an
authority, Mr Moyo said of Archbishop Ncube, "he is a desperate, troubled soul."

Mr Moyo accuses the UK of stoking violence in Zimbabwe

The European Union on Thursday accused President Robert
Mugabe's government of channelling food aid to its own supporters and ignoring
opposition activists, as millions face starvation.

Speaking about
reports that foreign food aid was being diverted, a Danish minister said that
such behaviour was unacceptable.

Last weekend, a United States official
warned that the US may have to take "intrusive" measures to ensure that food aid
was properly distributed.

Zimbabwe denied the allegations and accused
the US of preparing to invade.

These days there
is an unwritten rule in Zimbabwe - support the government or put yourself at
risk.

One victim of violence I met, said he was set upon by a gang of
ruling Zanu-PF party supporters. The reason?

We are unable
to report on a lot of things that are going on in this country

Trevor Ncube Zimbabwe Independent "I'm not interested in going to
the meetings of Zanu-PF," he tells me.

Stories of violence like this are
now common. So are stories of torture sessions in police stations.

One
official with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) describes the
long, long week he spent in custody.

"A group of officers took me from
the cell to a torture room, and dipped my head in a bucket of water.

"They had to handcuff me and they had to put electrical cords on my
fingers, toes and my private parts. I felt I could not stand it but there was
nothing I could do. "

Shoot the messenger

MDC leader Morgan
Tsvangirai says that people are being intimidated across the country, under
orders from President Robert Mugabe himself.

"He is using state
institutions to crush the opposition by whatever means at his disposal.

Morgan Tsvangirai warns of economic collapse

"Our leaders in some of the very strong provinces are being brutalised
on a daily basis. The judiciary, the press, everyone is under attack."

The press in Zimbabwe feels the noose on them is tightening daily. The
government is clearly determined to shoot the messenger.

Trevor Ncube,
editor of the Independent in Harare, explains:

"We are unable to report
on a lot of things that are going on in this country.

"The story of
hunger, the story of destitution, the story of the violence, the story of
lawlessness - the independent media in this country, and the foreign media, is
unable to get into those areas where the state and the lawless party thugs do as
they please. "

Foreign agents

In other nations, those who feel
disenfranchised can turn to the law. Not much use here.

Brian Kagoro
helps run a legal aid group, Crisis in Zimbabwe. President Mugabe, he says, has
made sure that the law works for him.

There is no way you
can pretend that you are in control when six to seven million people are hungry

Morgan Tsvangirai "We've seen the tinkering with the
composition of the judiciary. Clearly I think the appointments are meant to deal
with specific interests - which are ruling party interests - dilute the
composition of the bench to such an extent that it will not be possible to have
adverse judgements."

Also under pressure are the non-governmental
organisations. They are trying to help millions of Zimbabweans who face hunger
because of drought.

But the government accuses some NGOs of being
foreign agents and thus a threat to national security.

Political food
aid

Canon Tim Neil is a Zimbabwean who runs a local NGO that's trying to
feed displaced farm workers. He says it is the government which is threatening
the vital work of the NGOs:

"The World Food Programme has suspended food
relief in one district because of the politicisation of the relief.

Praying for better times

"Save the
Children have been closed from distribution.

"An organisation that was
distributing through the Catholic Church in Gwanda, they have been closed.

"Oxfam has been shut down in, I believe, the Binga area. And so even the
implementing partners are being viewed by government as enemies and are not
being able to distribute."

These allegations of repression are serious
ones. So we tried to call Zimbabwe's information minister to answer them.

He was not available. For now, all these measures seem to have
strengthened Robert Mugabe's hand.

Time bomb

But Morgan
Tsvangirai warns him people can only take so much:

"There is no way you
can pretend that you are in control when six to seven million people are hungry.

"We're near collapsing the whole economic fabric of this society. So it
may be a bravado that he's displaying but he knows certainly that he's sitting
on a very serious time bomb."

As economic crisis grows in Zimbabwe
though, its president shows no sign of relenting.

Most people here feel
that things will get much worse, before they get better.

Zimbabwe
yesterday accused the Bush administration of usingthe famine threatening
southern Africa as a pretext toinvade or undermine the government of
President RobertMugabe.

"The United States is planning to invade
Zimbabwe within thenext six months on the pretext of bringing relief aid
topeople who were allegedly being denied food on politicalgrounds," the
state-owned Zimbabwe Herald, considered anaccurate mirror of government
opinion, said in a front-pagestory yesterday.

The U.S. Embassy in
Harare issued a statement denying theaccusations, but Zimbabwe army Chief of
Staff Gen. VitalisZvinavashe told the newspaper the U.S. government was
tryingto control private relief groups distributing food and aidin the
country "and disregard the laws of Zimbabwe."

The comments were the first
extended reaction by the Mugaberegime to remarks late last week from a
senior StateDepartment official, first reported in The Washington
Timesand Bloomberg News, that the U.S. government was
considering"intrusive, interventionist measures" to ensure the
deliveryof international aid in the country.

With the Mugabe
government accused of channeling food aidaway from regions where political
opposition is strongest,"the dilemmas of the next six months may bring us
face toface with Zimbabwe's sovereignty," said Mark Bellamy,principal
deputy assistant secretary of state for Africanaffairs.

Mr. Bellamy
said Friday at a Washington forum on Zimbabwe'sdeepening economic and
political crisis the U.S. governmentstill hoped the United Nations, private
relief groups andinternational pressure could open aid channels
throughoutthe country, and no U.S. official has repeated his
explicitwarnings.

"We believe only the people of Zimbabwe can solve
theirnation's problems," according to yesterday's
embassystatement.

But State Department officials continue to accuse
the Mugabegovernment of politicizing food distribution, fearsheightened
when Zimbabwean officials seized a shipment ofgrain from the U.N. World Food
Program and distributed it tosupporters of Mr. Mugabe's ruling ZANU-PF
party.

Relief organizations and community activists within
Zimbabwehave leveled similar charges.

"Politicization of food
distribution by the ruling party inthe face of an urgent need and real human
suffering is verycynical," State Department spokesman Richard Boucher
saidMonday. "It's a very self-serving response to a majorhumanitarian
catastrophe."

U.S. officials say Mr. Mugabe's authoritarian rule,
thestate monopoly on grain distribution and a
coerciveland-redistribution program targeting the country'swhite-owned
farms have greatly aggravated the effects of thedrought that has hit
Zimbabwe and five other countries inthe region.

There are about 4.5
million Zimbabweans now needing foodaid, and the figure is expected to rise
to 6.7 million byMarch.

Mr. Bellamy warned last week, "It's safe to
predict that thesituation in Zimbabwe is going to get a lot worse and
thatthere will be no change unless outside forces prove to bethe
catalyst."

But Stan Mudenge, Zimbabwe's foreign minister, said in
atelevision interview that the charges the government wasdiverting food
aid to political supporters was a "fandangoof a fairy tale of lies" spread
by opposition politicians.

Harare
- President Robert Mugabe is expected to present an annual budgetstatement
next week with promises of a brighter future, but analysts saythere will be
no respite for the struggling economy without some key
policychanges.

The world will look for any pointers that Mugabe is
ready to reverse some ofthe controversial policies that have plunged the
southern African country'seconomy into virtual free-fall with millions
facing starvation, they say.

But shifts are difficult to predict in a
government dominated by radicalsappointed by Mugabe to help him fight a
deepening political and economiccrisis which he blames on Western forces
seeking to oust him from power.

Zimbabwe's 2003 budget will be presented
on Thursday by new Finance MinisterHerbert Murerwa, who was appointed to the
post two months ago in place ofSimba Makoni, whom Mugabe dropped over major
policy differences after sometwo years in the job.

Murerwa, a genial
figure and former diplomat, is regarded by industry as aloyalist with no
strong views and a man who has always worked close to hisboss's
instructions.

Policy changes needed

"There is no excitement over
the budget because whatever figures andpromises that the government is going
to provide will only make more senseif they are accompanied by some policy
changes on the ground," said JamesJowa, chief economist at the Zimbabwe
National Chamber of Commerce (ZNCC).

"We may or we may not get some new
incentives to boost production," headded.

Zimbabwe's economy shrank
by 7.3% last year and is expected to contract by afurther 10% in 2002 after
a severe drought and serious disruption of its keyagricultural sector by
Mugabe's land reforms.

Nearly half the country's 14 million people are
facing starvation,unemployment is close to 70% and the country is struggling
with othershortages such as fuel and cooking oil.

Inflation has
soared by more than 100 percent in the country since November2001, climbing
to a record 140% in the year to September.

Financial analyst Nyasha
Chasakara said Murerwa had hinted that he wascommitted to fighting rising
inflation and it would be interesting to seewhat measures he came up
with.

But other analysts say there is very little chance of key policy
changes,including a devaluation of the Zimbabwe dollar, which has been
pegged at 55to the US dollar but is trading at around 1 500 on a thriving
black market.

Mugabe won't back down

And nobody is expecting
Mugabe to reverse or slow down his controversialseizures of white-owned
farms for redistribution to landless blacks, whichhe says is part of efforts
to revive an economy mired in its third year ofrecession.

Mugabe,
whose controversial policies are blamed by many for ruining one ofAfrica's
most-promising economies, has been fighting Zimbabwe's politicaland economic
crisis under the banner: "Land is the economy and the economyis
land."

Critics say instead of opening up the economy to the key private
sector,Mugabe has worsened Zimbabwe's crisis by imposing and tightening
controls onfood imports, food prices, fuel and transport. The government
hasaccumulated foreign debt arrears of nearly US $170
million.

Earlier this week the IMF's chief representative in Zimbabwe,
Gerry Johnson,was quoted from New York as saying that Mugabe's Zanu-PF
government wasguilty of creating "a three-headed monster" of declining
production in allsectors, artificially low interest rates and a fictitious
exchange rate.

Johnson told Zimbabwe's Daily News Mugabe would have to
reverse theinternational pariah status he has earned by years of farm
seizures, what hecalled a stolen presidential election in March and broken
promises to gainpolitical mileage.

CARRYING heavy bags of
maize-meal on their heads and clutching paper bags, along line of people
stretches across the New Limpopo Bridge from the SAborder towards
Zimbabwe.

As they approach the customs post, about 100 men and women of
all agessuddenly bolt from the main road through holes in the security fence
andrush helterskelter into the bush.

At Beitbridge customs, people
look stunned and begin to whistle, promptingthose who have gone through the
fence to increase their pace. Packages aredropped; touts at the border post
join the fray, rushing to grab the itemsleft behind.

As the scene
gets more chaotic, the police stand by and watch the
dramaunfold.

These events were observed last weekend, but similar
scenes are playingthemselves out on a daily basis here at Beitbridge border
post the busiestport of entry in sub-Saharan Africa where thousands of
Zimbabweans aresmuggling food into their own country to avoid starvation.
Apart from maizemeal, they also squeeze in with sugar, salt, beans, milk,
cooking oil andeven bread.

Some people crossing the bridge say
shortages and hunger have forced them tovisit Messina, 12km away from
Beitbridge, to buy food.

"There is nothing in our shops," one person
says. "The reason why we gothrough the fence and not customs is that custom
officials only allow us twobags of maize-meal when we need much more than
that."

Armed police at the openings through which most people evade
customs saythey cannot stop the human flow.

"What can I do?" asks one
officer. "Do you want me to arrest them so thattheir families can starve?
There is hunger in Zimbabwe and these people arejust trying to
survive."

While most people in Zimbabwe's big cities are getting used to
having to dowith substitutes, those near border posts such as Beitbridge,
VictoriaFalls, Chirundu, Mutare, and Plumtree resort to importing staples
fromneighbouring countries.

Zimbabwe is gripped by an unprecedented
food crisis. According to the WorldFood Programme, about 6-million people
nearly half the country's populationare facing starvation. The food crisis
has been attributed to drought andthe effects of Harare's land reforms on
agricultural production.

The crisis is expected to sharpen in the next
few months as food suppliesdry up. Donor groups such as Christian Care have
warned that government'spolicies are hindering them from bringing in and
distributing food freely tothe needy. British organisations such as Oxfam
have been banned fromdistributing food aid as the Zimbabwean government
charges them with tryingto influence domestic politics through food
distribution.

For its part, government is unable to import sufficient
grain due to a lackof foreign currency.

Meanwhile, the private sector
is not allowed to import grain. According togovernment regulations passed
last year in the face of looming foodshortages, the state marketing board is
the only entity authorised to importgrain.

US ambassador to United
Nations (UN) food agencies, Tony Hall, warnedrecently it could soon be too
late to prevent a humanitarian crisis inZimbabwe.

"Zimbabwe is headed
for famine and people will die," he said. "I'm not surewe can stop
it."

The programme says it is battling to expand its food relief
activities toprevent spreading starvation. A spokesman for the food
programme, LuisClemens, says the UN relief agency is stepping up efforts to
cover thoseareas where the food shortages are worsening rapidly.

"We
are working flat out to prevent famine," he says.

"By the end of the
month we should have moved from 20 to 28 districts. Weare trying to feed
everyone who is hungry and we want to reach about3,9-million people by March
or April next year," says Clemens.

Zimbabwe is just one of the countries
in the region experiencing severe foodshortages.
Daily News

Vegetables join the shortages list

11/8/02
11:12:27 AM (GMT +2)

Business Reporter

EVEN
cabbages and other vegetables are now running short despitegovernment talk
of a successful land reform programme.

A survey by The Daily News
showed that most major supermarkets in andaround Harare were receiving an
erratic supply of cabbages and rape.

The supply of traditional
basic commodities like maize-meal, cookingoil, bread and milk continues to
be erratic.

However, shortage of transport seems to be hampering
delivery ofproduce to markets in Harare. A variety of vegetables are piled
along theroadside on most highways leading to farms surrounding the
capital.

The farmers complain about the unavailability of transport
to carrytheir produce to the market. Most transport operators have grounded
theirfleets following the shortage and high costs of spare parts, compounded
byan erratic fuel supply situation.

As a result vegetable
producers are losing as most of their produce isrotting by the roadside
before reaching the market.

The vendors who spoke to The Daily News
said getting transport todeliver their produce to the market was fast
becoming a nightmare and evenin cases where transport was available, the
costs were prohibitive.

On the farms, a head of cabbage sells at
$20 while just by theroadside, the price doubles to $40 and by the time it
hits town the pricewould have gone up to between $60 and $70.

The transport situation in the country has dealt a blow to almostevery
sector of the economy.

Slow and unreliable production flows have
become common as transportoperators grapple to get spare parts and
fuel.

Commuters have not been spared either. Transport for urban
dwellershas become a nightmare as it now takes not less than two to three
hours forcommuters to get to and from work. Cases where workers report for
work twohours late are slowly becoming the norm, rather than an
exception.

JOHANNESBURG, 8
November (IRIN) - The European Union (EU) this week accused Zimbabwe's ruling
party of using food aid as a political weapon against opposition
supporters.

Bertel Haarder, European affairs minister of Denmark which
holds the EU presidency, told Reuters: "They use our aid as a tool in the
domestic fight against the opposition in order to survive and that is not
acceptable."

Haarder's comments followed a two-day meeting between top
EU officials and their counterparts from the Southern Africa Development
Community (SADC) in Mozambique. The meeting was reportedly dominated by the
political crisis in Zimbabwe and widespread regional food shortages.

More than 14 million people are in need of emergency food aid in six
southern African countries, with six million people affected in Zimbabwe alone.
While the government has attributed the food crisis to a crippling drought,
observers say the government's fast-track land programme has exacerbated the
problem.

At the close of the meeting on Friday the EU said in a statement
that it would work with local NGOs and other donors to draw up guidelines for
the distribution of food aid to the region to avoid political abuse.

The
EU, however, failed to broker an agreement with African leaders on how to deal
with the crisis in Zimbabwe.

"We have had a robust debate, but we have
no agreement on the subject [of Zimbabwe]. But from the European side, we have
strongly emphasised good governance, security and peace. Clearly, we have
Zimbabwe in mind, because what is happening there is not acceptable. We need
that to be sorted out," Haarder told reporters.

Since the start of
Zimbabwe's troubles, southern African leaders have been reluctant to reproach
President Robert Mugabe, and have opposed sanctions as a possible solution to
the political crisis.

"Bashing Zimbabwe all the time does not help.
Sometimes it gives people the perception that indeed Zimbabwe has been bullied,"
Malawi Deputy Foreign Minister Chimunthu Banda was quoted as saying at the
meeting in Maputo.

Analysts have suggested that deep divisions between
African countries and the West over tougher measures against Zimbabwe had
inadvertently hampered efforts to help ease the political imbroglio in the
country.

The EU slapped sanctions on Mugabe's government after a March
presidential election considered illegitimate by the West, but endorsed by most
African countries.

EU representatives in Maputo also reacted strongly to
suggestions from the Zimbabwean leadership that Europe and Britain should
compensate white farmers for their expropriated land, saying the "reforms were
conducted with minimum respect for the rule of law".

Mugabe has said that
the farm seizures were the only way to ensure that landless blacks could tackle
their poverty.

Despite not having reached a deal with African ministers
over Zimbabwe, the EU pledged Euro 101 million (US $101 million) in assistance
towards eradicating poverty in the region. The funds are expected to bolster
regional economic integration among SADC member states and improve transport and
communication infrastructure.

In a related development, two more
British-based charities were banned from operating in Zimbabwe, news agencies
reported on Friday. The charities were the Westminster Foundation and the
Zimbabwe Democracy Trust.

Harare has in the past accused NGOs of
colluding with the opposition Movement for Democratic Change in a plot to
overthrow the government.

Last month the government ordered Oxfam and
Save the Childrens Fund to suspend their operations. Both charities are awaiting
government approval to continue with their food delivery programmes.
Daily News

UN urged to intervene to stop partisan food
distribution

11/8/02 11:35:02 AM (GMT +2)

Staff
Reporters

THE United Nations has been urged to intervene and stop
thepoliticisation of the distribution of relief aid especially that which
issourced through the world body's affiliate organs.

According
to interviews with residents of Harare, the ruling Zanu PFparty should not
be allowed to continue monopolising the distribution ofrelief food by
favouring the party's card-carrying members.

Scores of consumers
who had queued at Pfukwa shopping complex inHarare's Warren Park D suburb to
buy maize-meal went home empty-handed afterthey were asked to first produce
Zanu PF cards to buy the commodity.

The maize-meal was being sold
at a supermarket in the suburb.Oneresident said: "When I went to buy
mealie-meal, I was turned away after Ifailed to identify the name of the
Zanu PF district and its leadership. TheUN should stop this before we starve
to death."

Another resident who identified himself as Murwisi said
his wife hadbeen turned away after she failed to produce a Zanu PF
membership card. He said: "I think that the UN should intervene to stop
this madness.Why should I be denied food because I do not have a Zanu PF
membership card?"

The residents' plea to the UN came hardly a
day after the UnitedStates said it was looking for ways to ensure food
reaches the needyregardless of the political affiliation.

However, the US Embassy in Harare, denied that it was planning oninvading
Zimbabwe as reported by the State-controlled national daily,
TheHerald.

US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher,
according to a Reutersstory, said the review of food distribution methods
arose after theZimbabwean authorities seized grain the World Food Programme
wasdistributing and gave it to supporters of the government.

"Contrary to the headline in a 6 November 2002 newspaper, the UnitedStates
has absolutely no intention of invading Zimbabwe. No US governmentofficial
has made such a threat. We believe that only the people of Zimbabwecan solve
their nation's problems," said the US Embassy statement releasedin
Harare.

The US said while it remained committed to helping the
people ofZimbabwe survive the current food crisis, it was against the
distribution offood along political lines."Food donated by the United States
must bedistributed according to need, not political affiliation. We believe
this isthe principle on which all food aid should be
distributed.

"The United States also remains committed to the
fundamental humanrights of the people of Zimbabwe and will speak out when
those rights areviolated."

Meanwhile, it was not possible to
interview the Zanu PF leadershipresponsible for the distribution of of food
in Warren Park D because theywere hostile to strangers.

Dr
Nathan Shamuyarira, the Zanu PF spokesman, could not be reached forcomment.
His secretary said he was in a meeting.In Binga, Kamativi andJambezi in
Matabeleland North province, villagers alleged that Zanu PFofficials
demanded party cards in the distribution of food aid.

Macala
Mhlanga, the MDC constituency co-ordinator for Nkayi said:"Most of our
supporters are not allowed to buy maize at the Grain MarketingBoard (GMB)
and the most affected area is Ward 25, where there is
seriousstarvation."

In Gweru, hundreds of farmers queuing to
buy maize seed at the GMBdepot were allegedly turned away after they failed
to produce Zanu PF cards.

The entrance to the GMB depots in most
parts of the province are nowguarded by Zanu PF supporters and so-called war
veterans.

The GMB officials in Gweru and Kwekwe refused to comment,
referringall questions to the provincial administrator, Martin Rushwaya.
Rushwayaalso declined to comment.

Zanu PF activists in Zaka,
Gutu and Mwenezi districts have taken overthe distribution of food aid where
they allegedly deny MDC supporters thecommodity.

Charles
Mabvure of Ward 11 in Mushandike resettlement area said: "Alist of people
suspected of supporting the MDC has been compiled to makesure that we do not
get food. We have also been denied maize seed andfertiliser under the
government's farming credit input scheme."

MDC officials in
Manicaland said the most affected areas are Buhera,Chipinge, Chimanimani and
Makoni districts.

Roy Bennet, the MP for Chimanimani, yesterday said war veterans whoare
camped on his Charleswood Estate have stolen and slaughtered at least 20head
of cattle worth about $2 million since June.

He has persistently
resisted threats by Zanu PF officials, warveterans and the police to evict
him from the farm, arguing it falls underthe Export Processing Zone
(EPZ).

According to the law, any farm under the EPZ cannot be
compulsorilyacquired.

Bennet alleged the war veterans
slaughtered most of the cattle andsold the meat to butcheries in
Chimanimani, retaining some of the meat fortheir own
consumption.

He said: "I have a serious problem on the farm. Since
June, the warveterans have prevented my cattle from grazing, resulting in
them losingweight and eventually dying. I have 800 cattle on the farm at the
momentwhich are now being stolen and slaughtered."

Bennet said
he initially owned about 1200 cattle but had sold some ofthem when the
thefts began. He said the war veterans slaughtered two beastslast week and
roasted them on the farm. Bennet said he reported the matterto the police.
He said: "The police have not taken any action whatsoever. Idecided to move
my cattle off the farm and approached the veterinarydepartment in
Chimanimani for a permit but the officer there said he wasscared to issue
one.

"He said he had been threatened by a senior policeman against
doingso. My cattle are now in a pathetic state. They are deteriorating
becausethey are being prevented from grazing."

Edmund Maingire,
the provincial police spokesman, could not be reachedfor comment
yesterday.

Stanislous Chikukwa, a member of the national executive
of theZimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association dismissed
Bennet'sallegations on the slaughtering of the cattle.

He said:
"That's not true. I was in Chimanimani last week and I neverreceived such a
report, either from the police, the district administratoror from war
veterans."

But Bennet insisted his cattle were being starved while
some of themwere being slaughtered indiscriminately.

JUSTICE Charles Hungwe has ruled that the treason trial of
MDC leaderMorgan Tsvangirai and two other party officials facing allegations
ofplotting to assassinate President Mugabe be held in February next
year.

The trial was originally set for next Monday. Hungwe's ruling
followedan urgent application in the High Court by Innocent Chagonda
representingTsvangirai, Welshman Ncube, the MDC secretary-general and MP for
BulawayoNorth-East, and Renson Gasela, the shadow minister of agriculture
and MP forGweru Rural.

Chagonda said the ruling was made last
week on Monday. "The matterwill be heard on 3 February 2002,'' he said.
Chagonda said they applied forthe postponement because the State had failed
to give the defence a copy ofthe audio tape in which Tsvangirai is alleged
to have spoken of the plan toassassinate Mugabe.

He said, in
addition, the government delayed in giving the defenceteam the State outline
in the matter."Our advocates were also not availableon the date proposed by
the State,'' Chagonda said.

Advocates Chris Andersen and Eric
Matinenga are part of the MDCleaders' defence team.The three were implicated
by former Israeli secretagent Ari Ben-Menashe, of the Canadian lobbyist
firm, Dickens and Madson,last November in the run-up to the controversial
March presidentialelection.

Ben-Menashe, who did political
consultancy for the government, hasadmitted being a long-time admirer of
Mugabe well before the alleged plot byTsvangirai and his
colleagues.

The government alleged that a video shot secretly by
Ben-Menasheshowed Tsvangirai agreeing with Ben-Menashe that Mugabe be killed
before thepresidential election.

Tsvangirai becomes the second
opposition leader after the late Zanupresident, Ndabaningi Sithole, to be
tried on allegations of trying to killMugabe.

Sithole died in
December 2000 with a pending case in the Supreme Courtin which he was
challenging a two-year prison sentence imposed by the HighCourt following
his conviction for attempting to assassinate Mugabe.

THE British High Commission yesterday scoffed at reports in
thegovernment-controlled Herald newspaper yesterday, alleging the
UnitedKingdom was behind an alleged plot to invade Zimbabwe.

The High Commission said in a statement yesterday: "These claims areuntrue
and irrational. As we have stated on many occasions, the Britishgovernment
wants to see peace and stability in Zimbabwe. The Britishgovernment has no
intention of invading Zimbabwe, nor is it encouragingothers to do
so."

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated rapidly
sincethe farm seizures which began in 2000 and over last March's
disputedpresidential election.

The Zimbabwean government has
repeatedly accused Britain of plottingto topple President Mugabe's
government for seizing mainly white-ownedcommercial farms for purported
resettlement of the land-hungry.

The British, whose envoy to Harare
has reportedly been placed on24-hour surveillance by State security agents
for allegedly trying toundermine the government, have denied the
allegations.

The latest stand-off stems from yesterday's issue of
The Herald, whichalleged that three activists from Matabeleland presented
falsehoods on thesituation in the country at a meeting set up by the British
in Washington onSaturday.

The newspaper alleged the meeting
attended by the activists wasorganised by the London-based Zimbabwe
Democracy Trust, which it said wasfunded by Britain's Centre for
International and Strategic Studies. TheHerald said the Washington meeting
was chaired by a former secretary at theBritish High Commission, David
Troup, an allegation the High Commissiondenied yesterday.

"Contrary to The Herald's claims, the British government is notfunding the
Zimbabwe Development Trust. The Trust is entirely independent ofthe British
government and does not speak for the British government," theHigh
Commission said.

The High Commission said Troup had worked with
them in 2000 for justone month while he was on temporary
secondment.

"He is no longer working for the British High
Commission or theForeign and Commonwealth Office."News24

EU says no to compensation

Maputo - The European Union
(EU) has rejected Zimbabwe's demand for Europeand Britain to compensate
white farmers evicted from their farms underZimbabwe's contentious land
reform programme.

"That is now unacceptable, these reforms were conducted
with minimum respectfor the rule of law," Danish Minister for European
Affairs Berterl Haardertold a press conference late on
Thursday.

Zimbabwe is currently embroiled in a land reform programme
which has seenthe seizure of most of the properties belonging to the
country's 4 500 whitefarmers.

Very few have been compensated so far
by the Zimbabwean government.

Haarder's comments came after the first day
of a two-day meeting between topEU government officials and their
counterparts from the 14-member SouthernAfrica Development Community (SADC)
in the Mozambique capital.

Zimbabwe's Foreign Minister Stan Mudenge had
said earlier President RobertMugabe's government wanted Britain to
compensate white farmers as "we havecompleted the land reform
programme".

"We just want justice for the white farmers," Mudenge
said.

Haarder said Zimbabwe had prompted heated debates at Thursday's
session,which focussed on peace and democracy. "We had serious and robust
debates onZimbabwe but with little progress," Haarder said.

He said a
normalisation of relations between Zimbabwe and the EU could notbe expected
soon, but everything would be done to ensure the continuation
ofdialogue.

The EU has been a staunch critic of Zimbabwean land
reform, and has imposedtargetted sanctions and travel restrictions against
Mugabe and 71 of hisclose associates for alleged human rights abuses.
Sapa-AFP

RECENT
developments in which Zanu PF has demanded membership cardsfrom hungry rural
and urban dwellers only serve to strengthen the need forinternational
pressure to ensure non-governmental organisations are alloweddirect
participation, in order to save millions of Zimbabweans
fromstarvation.

Villagers in Binga, Insiza, and urban dwellers
in Budiriro,Chitungwiza, Kuwadzana, Mufakose and Warren Park have in the
past week beenrequired to produce membership cards of the ruling party
before beingallowed to buy maize-meal.

This is the most callous
conduct anyone can ever imagine from agovernment. As one of the ruling
party's senior officials, Didymus Mutasa,said not so long ago, Zanu PF's
actions illustrate that they would ratherall non-party supporters starved to
death, effectively a kind ofState-induced genocide, designed to ensure that
Zimbabwe reverts to aone-party state.

This is one example of
how a government has deliberately plotted towage a war against its own
citizens for daring to exercise their right tobelong to a party of their
choice.

It is because the government no longer listens to anyone,
internally,that pressure from outside should be applied in order to avert an
imminenthumanitarian crisis.

If the food for which Zanu PF
membership cards are being demanded wasfree, and was being sourced by the
party using its own resources, theremight be some tenuous justification of
the malicious practice. But this isfood that people are paying for with
their own money. On the other hand, thegovernment has ensured that anyone
seeking to bring in food - privatecompanies and the MDC - is denied such a
role by a government requirementthat they first obtain an import
licence.

The government is doing this deliberately in order to
"fix" theopposition, but more significantly what is happening demonstrates
that thegovernment's assurances are worthless. President Mugabe in July
assuredJames Morris, the executive director of the United Nations World
FoodProgramme (WFP) that the government would not interfere in the
distributionof food aid to the more than six million Zimbabweans at risk of
starvation.

What has followed Mugabe's "assurance" to the WFP chief
is that inareas such as Binga and Insiza, international non-governmental
organisationshave been ordered out because they are perceived as feeding
supporters ofthe opposition.

That a government can sanction the
starvation of hundreds of thousandsof people because they differ politically
is reprehensible, disgraceful andhorrendous.The government and the ruling
party claim it is not their policyto sell food to their supporters only, but
the structures that are doing this are theirs, so they cannot be
unaware of it.

If indeed the government was against such a
practice, it would haveordered the arrest of anyone guilty of such conduct
and would have punishedthem in a manner demonstrative of the government's
displeasure. But it hasdone no such thing because it is sanctioning these
dastardly activities.

The European Union-Sadc ministers meeting in
Maputo this week would bean appropriate platform to pressure the Zimbabwe
government to allownon-governmental organisations a more significant role in
averting massstarvation. The actions of the government are no different from
the those ofthe perpetrators of the genocide that claimed hundreds of
thousands of livesin Rwanda during 1994.

It is now more than a
month since non-governmental organisations werestopped from distributing
food to more than 200 000 people in Binga.

There might still be
some food which the government gave the villagersin Insiza, in exchange for
their votes during last month's parliamentaryby-election, but even there
hunger may yet claim many lives.

It is anyone's guess how the
villagers are surviving. Pressure must beexerted on the government to avert
a looming humanitarian crisis. It isironic in a macabre sort of way that the
government can express grief at thenumber of lives lost in this week's road
accident and mine tragedies, whenit is itself busy plotting to bring about
the demise of people who are notits supporters by denying them food.SADC/EU Meeting Ends Without Agreement On Zimbabwe

Agencia de
Informacao de Mocambique (Maputo)

November 8, 2002Posted to the web
November 8, 2002

Maputo

A ministerial meeting between the Southern
African Development Community(SADC) and the European Union (EU) ended in
Maputo on Friday, without anyagreement on the crisis in Zimbabwe.

The
meeting lasted four hours longer than scheduled, and much of that timewas
spent in negotiations over how to refer to Zimbabwe in the
finalcommunique.

Key ministers could be seen going from one group to
another clutching piecesof paper. As the afternoon wore on so the diplomats
became increasinglytired, increasingly frayed.

In the end, all that
could be said in the final statement was "On thequestion of Zimbabwe, SADC
and EU could not reach an agreement".

The meeting's co-chairman, the
Danish Minister for Europe Affairs, BertelHaarder, read out to a closing
press conference the text on Zimbabwe thatthe EU had proposed. This
expressed "concern at the plight of the people ofZimbabwe", and stressed
that the issue of land reform could not be separatedfrom the rule of law,
democracy and human rights. It suggested sending ajoint SADC/EU team to
Zimbabwe to follow the situation and makerecommendations for the way
forward.

Haarder said it was the Zimbabwean delegation, led by Foreign
Minister StanMudenge, that had blocked adoption of this
text.

However, his co-chair, Angolan Planning Minister Ana Dias Lourenco,
deniedthis and said the EU text had been rejected by SADC as a
whole.

The EU took the precaution of circulating a brief statement of its
positionon Zimbabwe. This expressed deep concern at "the violations of human
rightsand the restrictions on the media, as well as the deteriorating
economicsituation, caused largely by the policies of the Zimbabwean
authorities".

There was no equivalent statement from SADC. Lourenco
claimed the SADCposition on Zimbabwe was "well known", and called for a
renewed dialoguebetween the EU and Zimbabwe.

"Our objective is to
re-establish relations between Zimbabwe and the EU",she said.

She
claimed that the disagreement over Zimbabwe did not affect the rest ofthe
meeting, nor did she expect it to affect the overall level of
SADC/EUcooperation.

During the meeting Mudenge called on other EU
members to put pressure onBritain to pay compensation to the mainly white
commercial farmers whoseland has been expropriated during Zimbabwe's "fast
track" land reform.

This was regarded as an attempt to split the EU
delegations, and it failed."The 15 EU countries have been in total
agreement", said Haarder. "We havestood together".

He noted that when
the EU held meetings in the afternoon to discuss theworking of the
communique, they only lasted about five minutes, such was thelevel of
consensus.

Later Mudenge claimed he had been encouraged by the meeting
and that "a lotof useful information was exchanged".

But he then
denounced Britain and other EU members for "destabilising"Zimbabwe. Asked
repeatedly which EU members he was referring to, he wouldonly mention
Britain, Denmark and Holland by name.

The "destabilisation" consisted in
independent radio stations broadcastingfrom Britain and Holland, and foreign
funding for Zimbabwean human rightsorganisations and political parties. At
one point, he described those whoreceived such funding as "British
agents".

Was Mudenge really suggesting that NGOs in the SADC region
should not acceptany money from foreign governments ? "They should not fund
political partiesor groups that attack SADC governments", he
replied.

Mudenge denied allegations of discrimination in the distribution
of foodaid, and claimed that the greater part of the aid distributed this
year hasgone to parts of Zimbabwe that returned opposition members to
parliament.

Mudenge praised two former British foreign secretaries, Lords
Carrington andHowe, for urging the current British government to pay
compensation to theZimbabwean white farmers, whom he described as "victims
of the LancasterHouse settlement" (the 1979 agreement on Zimbabwean
independence).

Ironically, Mudenge was siding with prominent members of
the BritishConservative Party (historically the party which supported white
minorityrule in what was then Rhodesia) against the current British
government,formed by the Labour Party (which historically supported the
liberationmovements).

ATTN SUBSCRIBERS: Please note a correction to the headline of the story moved on
Thursday. Oxfam has not "urged" the Zimbabwe government to lift its ban. The
headline should have read:

ZIMBABWE: Oxfam awaits approval for WFP food
deliveries

JOHANNESBURG, 7 Nov 2002 (IRIN) - A British charity Oxfam on
Thursday said it was still awaiting approval from the Zimbabwean government to
go ahead with the delivery of food supplied by the World Food Programme (WFP).

Jane Cocking, Oxfam's regional programme manager in Zimbabwe told IRIN:
"We are still in negotiations to become a WFP implementing partner. All the
paperwork has been done and there are ongoing discussions with the Ministry of
Social Welfare. We are confident that the suspension will be lifted soon."

Last month Oxfam and Save the Children's Fund (SCF), another British NGO
were banned from distributing WFP-supplied food aid. Additionally, SCF was
ordered to stop distributing its own food to people in the Binga district of
western Zimbabwe.

The ban on the two charities came at a critical point,
with hunger deepening across Zimbabwe. WFP has estimated that close to six
million are in need of emergency food aid until the next harvest in March/April
2003.

In the meantime, Oxfam said that it had distributed seeds to
communities in the Midlands and Masvingo provinces.

Last year the
government accused aid agencies of using food relief to campaign for the
opposition Movement for Democratic Change.

More recently, the
politicisation of food aid has become a controversial issue as the government
faces allegations of channelling food aid away from regions where political
opposition is strongest.

Last month WFP suspended the distribution of
relief supplies in Insiza district in Matabeleland South province due to alleged
political interference by President Robert Mugabe's ruling party.
Dispatch online

Cholera follows in wake of food shortage

GENEVA --
Cholera is the latest health threat to more than 14 million peoplealready
hard hit by a food crisis in southern Africa, the InternationalFederation of
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies warned yesterday.

Five hundred cases
of cholera and 24 deaths were reported in the last monthalone in Zimbabwe's
Masvingo province, it said.

Other cases have been reported in
neighbouring countries affected by droughtwhich has meant more people are
forced to drink polluted ground water.

The International Federation has
sent cholera treatment kits for up to 5000people this week, but said it also
needed to step up its water andsanitation efforts.

The Zimbabwe Red
Cross said cholera had in recent weeks swept through thedistricts of Zaka
and Bikita where HIV-Aids affected up to 42 percent of theadult
population.

"The Red Cross maintains there is a link between the cholera
outbreak andfood shortages," the statement said.

Ben Mountfield,
based in Zimbabwe, noted that cholera usually struck whenthe rains started,
but this year it had come earlier because of the foodsecurity
situation.

"People are weak, they have limited access to food and they
are using poorwater sources," he added.

As well as Zimbabwe, Zambia,
Lesotho, Mozambique, Malawi and Swaziland areaffected by the food crisis. --
Sapa-AFP

NOTHING smacks of hypocrisy more than a law that purports to
afford aprofession some protection but which is, in fact, replete with
clauses that restrict its practice.

It is even more
serious if that law attacks one of the mostfundamental human rights
guaranteed under our Constitution - the freedom ofexpression and our right
to be fully informed.

But the Access to Information and Protection
of Privacy Act (AIPPA)does precisely this by creating a fictitious privilege
out of the practiceof free expression and criminalising those who
violate the provisions of thisrepressive legislation. Such a law has no
place in any democratic society.

If the proposed amendments to
AIPPA form the bulk of this article,readers should be under no illusion that
any serious discussion aboutregulating the media and promoting access to
information in Zimbabwe mustnow start with how this law in all its forms
(amended or not), affects everyone of us.

AIPPA is an ominous
document. Its intentions are calculated tobuttress government's present
campaign to dismantle the instruments ofdemocratic practice by silencing the
voices of those who criticise itsapparent excesses.

Despite the
fact that dozens of changes were made to the originalBill, which the
Parliamentary Legal Committee described as "the mostcalculated and
determined assault on our liberties guaranteed by theConstitution", AIPPA
still remains a most extraordinarily repressive pieceof
legislation.

Indeed, some amendments proposed by Parliament were
discarded on thebasis that they would erode "the policy thrust" of a law
that intended togive the Minister of Information and the Media and
Information Commission(MIC) unprecedented authority, comparable only to that
of the police forceand the Supreme Court. In its original form, the Bill
even granted theCommission immunity from legal proceedings, a right only
enjoyed by thePresident under the Constitution.

While these
extremely authoritarian provisions did not survive in theBill's passage
through Parliament, they provided a clear indication of the"policy thrust"
that motivated government's thinking when it introduced thelegislation. Just
hours before the bombing of The Daily News printing pressin the early hours
of 28 January 2001, the Minister of State for Informationand Publicity in
the President's Office, Professor Jonathan Moyo, was quotedon national radio
and TV (main news bulletin on 27/01/2001) as saying: ". . . because of
its anti-Zimbabwean stance the pro-MDC Daily Newsposes the greatest threat
to the national security and freedom of the Pressand government will not
hesitate to take corrective and legal measuresagainst the wayward
publication."

It is small consolation that Moyo condemned the
bombing soon after ithappened - albeit blaming the opposition Movement for
Democratic Change(MDC) without providing any evidence to support his claim.
The State's utterfailure to bring the culprits to justice for this act of
exceptionallyblatant terrorism nearly two years ago, can only be measured by
itssubsequent silence on such a grave matter.

From this and
numerous other threats the minister and other governmentofficials have made
against the private Press, the "policy thrust" of AIPPAbecomes abundantly
clear: it is nothing more than a government attempt tosilence public dissent
and its messengers, in an effort to promote theselfish interests of the
Mugabe regime - one of which is to extend its stayin power.

To
do this effectively, the government has to suffocate all thealternative
sources of information that report on government's excesses andthe voices of
its victims, through economic, legal and all other means atits disposal. And
AIPPA is the instrument with which it plans to achievethis. The Act intends
to "licence" journalists and "mass media services" andimpose fines and jail
terms for breaking the provisions of a law that turnsthe practice of
receiving and disseminating news and opinion into aprivilege.

No longer is the telling of stories and the dissemination of opinion aright
that is constitutionally protected. Under AIPPA the practice ofjournalism
will be severely regulated.

Already, at least 15 journalists have
been charged under AIPPA sinceit was promulgated on 15 March this year.
Others have been threatened,harassed and arbitrarily detained. Beyond this,
an increasingly violent andwidespread campaign has been launched to prevent
private newspapers frombeing circulated freely around the country. Little
effort has been made tocurb this totally illegal activity.

AIPPA's manifestly unconstitutional clauses and pending legalchallenges have
exposed the Act's weaknesses and have convinced thegovernment of the need to
gazette amendments to the law.

These reduce its exposure to
constitutional challenge and broaden thepowers of the MIC and government's
control of the dissemination of all electronic and printed matter to
unlimited audiences.

The free flow of information in Zimbabwe will
depend heavily on thedecisions of the MIC, which has the authority to decide
the fate of thosewho collect and distribute information for public
consumption.

In the original Act, three of the seven members of the
MIC were to benominated by an association of journalists and media houses.
The proposedamendments seek to repeal this provision and give the minister
solediscretion to appoint all commissioners, whom he can suspend or dismiss
for"conduct that renders him/her unsuitable". What constitutes such conduct
isnot defined, leaving the law open to abuse.

That the media
fraternity will have no say in the whole process aslaid down in the proposed
amendments is significant. This measure will havethe effect of eroding
professional independence, thereby undermining theintegrity of the
information reaching the Zimbabwean public.

Indeed, the proposed
amendments reinforce the repressive tendencies ofAIPPA. Serious and
meaningful debate on media regulation should not startwith AIPPA, since it
is a negative document. Its inadequacies as ademocratic tool for promoting
the free flow of information in the publicinterest are in no way remedied by
the proposed amendments. And itsselective application solely against the
private Press, clearly demonstratesthat the "policy thrust" of its
promulgation was to silence dissent andstarve the nation of vital and
impartial information.

THE National
Constitutional Assembly (NCA) says it will holdnationwide demonstrations
tomorrow without police permission to protestagainst continued government
repression.

On the same day, the MDC will hold their third
anniversarycelebrations in Highfield.

Lovemore Madhuku, the NCA
chairman, said yesterday the NCA would holdmass demonstrations throughout
the country to protest against governmentrepression and press for a new
Constitution.

"After Saturday's demonstrations, we will be holding
these protestsevery two weeks," he said. "We want to protest against the
government'scontinued subjugation of the people of Zimbabwe through unjust
laws, whichwe believe can only be solved by having a new Constitution.
Thedemonstrations will be in defiance of the repressive Public Order
andSecurity Act in that we will not even notify the police, as we have
beendoing all along. They use our courtesy to crush our demonstrations and
it isnow time to say no."

On whether NCA members would not be
arrested again for holdingdemonstrations without informing the police,
Madhuku said: "Fear of thepolice can never be a valid reason for postponing
a demonstration. Engagingin a demonstration is a fundamental right, just as
one does not seekpermission to breathe."

He said the
demonstrations would be held in Harare, Gweru, Mutare,Masvingo, Bulawayo and
Gweru. On the same day, the MDC is scheduled to holdits third anniversary
celebrations at Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield.

The MDC
secretary-general, Welshman Ncube, said the party resident,Morgan
Tsvangirai, and other party leaders would address the
gathering.

On the clash between the NCA demonstrations and the MDC
celebrations,Douglas Mwonzora, the NCA spokesman, said: "In the current
situation the NCAsees nothing to celebrate, under these circumstances of
massiveintimidation, election fraud, harassment of the opposition and a
totalbreakdown of the rule of law."

IN a move certain to
dash the hopes of thousands of Zimbabweansseeking economic refuge in the
United Kingdom, the British High Commissionin Harare yesterday announced
that Zimbabwean nationals visiting the UK willnow require a
visa.

Previously, Zimbabweans did not need such an endorsement on
theirpassports. An estimated 300 Zimbabweans, fleeing an economic meltdown
intheir motherland and government-sanctioned political violence, seek
asylumin Britain every two weeks. In June, British Press reports cited
Zimbabwe asamong the countries with the highest number of refugees seeking
asylum inthe UK during the first three months of this year. Zimbabwe became
the thirdlargest source of people seeking refuge in the UK - behind Iraq
andAfghanistan.

Under the new arrangement, which comes into
effect tomorrow,Zimbabweans will have to fork out $72 000 for a visa, apart
from theprohibitive airfare of more than $500 000 to London. Zimbabweans
wishing totransit through the UK to and from a third country will also
require a visa.

"The current fee for a standard visitor's visa,
allowing entry intothe UK for up to six months, is $72 000. A direct transit
visa currentlycosts $54 000," the High Commission announced. The visa
applications will behandled by a special operator, FedEx, which has offices
in Harare, Bulawayo,Gweru, Mutare and Victoria Falls.

Last
night, the British envoy to Zimbabwe, Brian Donnelly, denied thenew measures
were part of the stand-off between his country and Zimbabwe. Hesaid the new
visa requirements were intended to reduce the rising number ofZimbabweans
seeking asylum in the UK.

Donnelly said in 2001 only 115 were
granted political asylum out of 2115 applicants. He disclosed that 2 800
Zimbabweans had sought asylum in thefirst six months of this
year.

The British Home Secretary, David Blunkett, was quoted as
saying thenew measures are in line with a new policy to overhaul the
Britishimmigration and asylum system.

"I have decided to bring
in a visa programme for Zimbabwe to deal withwhat is a very significant
abuse of our immigration control by Zimbabweannationals. Large numbers are
refused entry into the UK and returned, othersare granted short-term entry,
many as visitors, but fail to return home," hesaid.

"We have put in place
special arrangements to help those who alreadyhave a confirmed ticket to
travel to or via the UK, and can show that it waspurchased on or before 7
November 2002."

Exempted from visas are those who are due to arrive
in the UK on adirect flight or a direct transfer flight via Johannesburg
before midnighton Friday next week. Those who are due to transit the UK
before midnight onFriday are also exempted.

Also exempted from
visas are Zimbabwean passport-holders who arelegally settled in the UK,
those with certificates of entitlement to theright of abode and those who
have previously been granted leave to enter orremain in the UK for a period
of more than six months but are returningbefore that period has
expired.

The High Commission said straightforward applications
would be dealtwith within seven working days and that all those with queries
would beinvited for interviews at their offices in Harare.

"FedEx will deliver your passport, with a visa if your application hasbeen
successful, to your home address," the High Commission said.

n In
an apparent retaliatory move, ZBC announced last night that theZimbabwean
government had imposed a travel ban on 119 people, includingBritish Prime
Minister Tony Blair and Zimbabweans working for SW RadioAfrica, which
broadcasts from London.

ZBC added that Britain had been downgraded,
in terms of visarequirements, from category A to B. This means British
passport holders willnow be required to apply for visas to enter
Zimbabwe.
ZBC...............(govt broadcasting)

Government not worried about Britain's imposition of
sanctions

9 November 2002The Government said it is not worried by
Britain's decision to impose visarestrictions on Zimbabwean nationals
visiting the European country.

The Minister of State for Information and
Publicity, Professor Jonathan Moyotold Newsnet that Zimbabwe is the only
country in the region that was stillenjoying that special
dispensation.

Professor Moyo said Zimbabwe was enjoying that dispensation
because of thepresence of the British kith and kin in the country who are
clinging on toprime land.

The introduction of visa requirements for
Zimbabwean nationals entering theUnited Kingdom comes after a long-standing
diplomatic row between the twocountries.

Professor Moyo said the
removal of the special dispensation on visas forZimbabwean nationals has
been prompted by the exodus of white commercialfarmers running away from the
land reform in Zimbabwe.

Professor Moyo also pointed out that Britain is
now afraid of being exposedafter recent reports that some blacks who left
the region under the falsepretext of asylum seeking are being treated as
slaves in Europe, Australiaand other developed countries.

Meanwhile,
Professor Moyo said the Government has also imposed travel banson some
Zimbabwean nationals resident in the United Kingdom because of theirworks
and utterances.

"These Zimbabwean nationals have proved beyond reasonable
doubt that theyhave lost their allegiance to the land of their birth," he
said.

He added that some of them have even acquired foreign citizenship.
EUobserver

MEPs face Zimbabwe ban

EUOBSERVER /
BRUSSELS - Zimbabwe yesterday announced that six MEPswould be banned from
entering the country in retaliation for London'sintroduction of visas for
Zimbabweans travelling to the UK.

The MEPs - co-president of the
ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Delegation,Glenys Kinnock, and Conservatives John
Corrie, Nirj Deva, Jacqueline Foster,Neil Parish and Geoffrey Van Orden -
join a host of prominent UK politicianswho are no longer welcome to set foot
in the country. External RelationsCommissioner, Chris Patten, has also been
hit with the sanctions, which haveimmediate effect.

The
Zimbabwean Government said the decision had been taken tosafeguard the
country's sovereignty, secure its national interests, peaceand stability.
Visas for Zimbabwean citizens travelling to the UK had beenimposed in
response to the growing number of people unjustifiably claimingpolitical
asylum.

EU breaks its own travel ban MEP Geoffrey Van
Orden today branded EU travel bans on seniorZimbabwean Government officials
a "farce" when it was revealed that theBelgian Government has issued entry
visas for two banned ZimbabweanMinisters.

Minister of State for
Enterprises, Paul Mangwana, and Deputy Ministerof Finance and Economic
Development, Christopher Kuruneri, will betravelling to Brussels to attend
the ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assemblybetween 25 and 28 November.
"This decision is a disgrace. It makes further mockery of the EuropeanUnion
and it is an affront to all the starving and oppressed people ofZimbabwe,"
said Mr Van Orden. He pointed out that this is the third time insix weeks
that the EU has broken its own travel ban.

In September, Trade
Minister Samuel Mumbengegwi spent a week inBrussels and last month the EU
summit with the Southern African DevelopmentCommunity was relocated from
Copenhagen to Mozambique so that Zimbabwe'sForeign Minister could
attend. Mr Van Orden has called for the Danish Foreign Minister, Per
StigMøller, EU Development Commissioner, Poul Nielson and MEPs to boycott
theJoint Parliamentary Assembly if the Zimbabwean ministers attend.

8th November 2002Press ReleasePolice Autopsy Results Do Not Absolve
Regime.

The results of the police autopsy announced yesterday do not in
anywaychange our position that the illegitimate Mugabe regime is
directlyresponsible for the death of Learnmore Jongwe, the former Member
ofParliament for Kuwadzana and Secretary for Information and Publicity for
theMovement for Democratic Change.

Jongwe died in the custody of the
state. He had been denied bail threetimes; the state alleged, among other
reasons, that he had to be kept safefrom committing suicide. It now emerges
that the regime wanted to keep him'safe' so as to ensure his
death.

The fact that traces of chloroquine were found in his body raises
twofundamental points. Firstly, Jongwe could have been forced to
takechloroquine. Secondly, if he indeed took the chloroquine on his own
accord,the regime and its partisan police force must explain under
whatcircumstances Jongwe got access to excessive amounts of chloroquine
while instate custody.

What is particularly shocking is the level of
insensitivity of the police,who proceeded to announce the results of the
autopsy without even having thedecency to inform the Jongwe family. Like all
Zimbabweans, Learnmore'smother, his lawyer and the rest of the Jongwe family
found out about theresults of the autopsy from the public media.

Such
is the state of decay that the regime's police force has no sensitivityto
the feelings of the citizens of Zimbabwe; it is only concerned aboutserving
the interests of the dictator.

Police spokesperson Wayne Bvudzijena's
continued insistence that the policewill not consider the results of an
autopsy carried out by an independentSouth African pathologist, suggests a
level of nervousness about therevelations that could come out of that
autopsy. It also suggests that thepolice knew, even before the result of
their autopsy, how Jongwe died.

JOHANNESBURG
- Sikiniwe Khumalo tends to 40 patients duringa single shift as a nurse at
the Helen Joseph Hospital here.That's too many, she says, for her to offer
more than basicmedical care, and certainly too many to remember all
theirnames.

Miss Khumalo's workload is typical of medical personnel
hereand around Africa, where HIV/AIDS and malnutrition havegiven doctors
and nurses more work than they can handle.

Despite this need, however, in
a few months, Miss Khumalo, asingle mother of two, will pack her bags and
leave thecountry of her birth for England, where she will have
atake-home pay three times her salary in South Africa. Andfriends who
have already left say that in Britain, she willcare for just six patients at
a time.

"Basically, it's the money," she said. "I can't makepayments
here. I've been working for 15 years, but I thinkI'm not getting the salary
I deserve."

Miss Khumalo is not alone. South Africa is experiencing
ahuge drain on health professionals, many of whom, like MissKhumalo, are
leaving the country for places like Britain,America and Australia, where pay
is higher and workingconditions are better.

This comes at a time when
the country's already-overloadedhealth system struggles to deal with the
increasing burdenof AIDS. But overworked and underpaid doctors and nurses
arelooking for alternatives. They are often helped byinternational
recruiting agencies that many Africangovernments accuse of luring away their
much-needed medicalstaff.

No one knows exactly how many of South
Africa's medicalprofessionals, whose training in the country's
medicalschools is highly respected worldwide, have left thecountry,
because few tell the government they are leaving.

But the South African
Medical Association estimates that atleast 3,500 of its 26,000 practicing
doctors are livingabroad. The country's minister of health says that from
1995to 1999, more than 2,500 nurses applied to have theirqualifications
verified, which is usually required fornurses to move abroad.

Surveys
show that the outflow is likely to increase. Nearly10 percent of doctors
surveyed by the South African MedicalJournal said they may leave within the
next five years, andone in three new doctors doing mandatory one-year
communityservice has plans to emigrate.

"Students sit around and talk
about where they want to gowhen they leave the country," said Christiaan
Burger, amedical student at the University of Pretoria and spokesmanfor
a student group protesting the planned addition of anextra year's
internship. Mr. Burger and others say that thisextra year of service will
push more doctors to leave.

South Africa has called on wealthy
governments to stoprecruiting its medical professionals.

"There is a
strong feeling that it is cynical on the part ofcountries that are better
resourced to rely on a constantstream of migrants from countries that pay
less," saidJo-Ann Collinge, a spokeswoman for South Africa's
Departmentof Health. "There should not be a systematic draining
fromdeveloping countries."

The Commonwealth, a body of 54 former
British colonies andterritories, has addressed the issue of poaching.
Somecountries have agreed not to recruit staff directly from
thedeveloping world. Britain, however, is trying to relievelong waiting
lists at hospitals by bringing in doctors fromabroad on a temporary
basis.

Because the United States does not have a nationalizedhealth
system, the U.S. government cannot forbid Americanhospitals and universities
from recruiting overseas.

Private companies continue to recruit heavily
in Africancountries by advertising in medical journals and evenoffering
rewards for doctors and nurses who provide thenames of colleagues. Even if
such practices were banned,there is little that could be done to stop
professionalslike Miss Khumalo from approaching placement companies
ontheir own.

Medical groups in South Africa say the country needs
toaddress the homegrown reasons - which have to do with morethan just
pay - that cause medical professionals to leave.

Neurologist James
Temlett worked for 25 years as a doctor atJohannesburg General Hospital and
as a medical professor atthe nearby University of Witwatersrand. A month
ago, he leftfor Australia, where he now splits his time between
auniversity and a hospital in Adelaide.

Dr. Temlett said he left
largely out of disgust with SouthAfrica's HIV/AIDS policies and the
government's refusal torecognize the scope of the pandemic. The government
hasopposed the use of anti-retrovirals for AIDS patients inpublic
hospitals and clinics, citing concerns about cost andthe drugs'
effectiveness.

"Out of the 40 patients I would see during a
shift,two-thirds of them - sometimes even as high asthree-quarters -
were suffering from HIV-related diseases,"he said. "It's certainly a crime
against humanity not torecognize the scope of the problem. It's
tremendouslydemoralizing the staff."

Despite its struggles to keep
its medical staff, SouthAfrica's situation is not nearly as severe as the
situationof many of its neighbors.

There are 400 registered doctors
left in all of Zambia, andmany of Zimbabwe's medical professionals have left
recentlybecause of the increasingly unstable political situationthere.
At one main hospital in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe'ssecond-largest city, three of
the hospital's four surgeonsleft the country this year. In Kenya's Daily
Nationnewspaper, the director of medical services said that Kenyahas
only 600 practicing dentists, an average of one forevery 69,000
patients.

"The issue of the migration of doctors is an
internationalissue," said Dr. Kgosi Letlape, chairman of the
SouthAfrican Medical Association. "The problem has become
verywidespread. The problem is that being a doctor is no
longereconomically attractive. Even successful countries arehaving a
hard time training enough
doctors."

SA IS underestimating the
collateral damage the Zimbabwean crisis is causingits economy, the
Europebased International Crisis Group (ICG) has said.

In its latest
report, the ICG says SA's weak response to the Zimbabweansituation is
worrying as it shows a lack of understanding about the spreadof economic and
political strife in the region.

"The lack of action divides Africa and
key western governments whileZimbabwe's opposition and civil society feel
abandoned and victimised," itsays.

ICG said SA would be the biggest
loser if it continued to resist calls tomoderate and contain Zimbabwean
President Robert Mugabe as a collapse inZimbabwe would have far-reaching
consequences across the Limpopo.

The ICG is a private, multinational
organisation committed to strengtheningthe capacity of the international
community to understand and respond toimpending crises around the world. It
is comprised of retired leaders andstatesmen and its chairman is former
Finnish president Martti Ahtisaari.Former SA high commissioner to the UK
Cheryl Carolus sits on the board.Since its inception in July 1 1995 it has
written several reports onZimbabwe.

The ICG also warns that SA is
facing an increase in the number of economicrefugees fleeing from Zimbabwe.
"The chief concern is the potential for asignificant increase in refugees if
Harare deliberately elects to userefugees as a human bomb."

Thousands
and thousands of Zimbabweans would escape to SA."

Apart from damaging the
SA economy, the Zimbabwe emergency would underminethe New partnership for
Africa's Development, ICG said.

It says that President Thabo Mbeki has
been using red herrings to avoidaction against Harare. Mbeki's recent claim
that his critics want him toinvade Zimbabwe is irrelevant.

"Mbeki
judges that opposing Mugabe could well cost him domestic politicalcapital,"
it says.

ICG says SA officials are united in their attempts to use feeble
excuses toduck the Zimbabwe issue.

For instance, Finance Minister
Trevor Manuel recently dramatised Pretoria'sunwillingness to act against
Harare by asking whether his government shouldact like Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon does against Palestinians. TheICG says such arguments
are unhelpful.

The watchdog says the reasons SA is reluctant to tackle
Zimbabwe head on arecomplex. Foremost of these is the "great sensitivity
throughout thecontinent about criticising a liberation movement such as Zanu
(PF)".

Mbeki is failing to act because he is pandering to revolutionary
solidaritypolitics, says the ICG.

The initiative, endorsed
by African leaders as part of the New Plan for African Development or Nepad,
aims to monitor the behaviour of African governments with a view to attracting
Western aid.

Papers fear that the initiative's success will be hampered
by the long-held tradition of non-interference in other states'
affairs.

"The notion of Africa being its brother's keeper is not going to
be an easy ride," an opinion writer in Johannesburg's Business Day
cautions.

The Nepad project is doomed to fail because it is
really nothing more than wishful thinking

Daily Nation
The paper feels many countries on the continent will view the idea as a
threat, especially those that "rely on repression to rule their people".

Harare's Daily News takes a similar line. In an editorial on why African
leaders are "scared" of scrutiny, the paper says the phenomenon "is Zimbabwe in
a microcosm: intolerance of dissent".

"The Zimbabwe Government is
sceptical of Nepad, anyway, basically because of its reliance on Western aid,"
the paper adds.

'Window dressing'

Nigeria's Vanguard worries that
"without a cast iron commitment to police its own progress... Africa's latest
development plan could suffer the same fate as a half-dozen previous failed
initiatives".

This pessimism is echoed in a commentary in Kenya's Daily
Nation, which says the NEPAD project "is doomed to fail because it is really
nothing more than wishful thinking".

Botswana's Mmegi comments in
similar vein: "History shows that African leaders see no evil and hear no evil
when dealing with errant leaders".

We survived this long
because we did not interfere in anybody's affairs...

Mmegi
The paper cites the example of Zimbabwe, whose "neighbours bear the economic
consequences of Robert Mugabe's misrule, yet fail to take firm action against
him".

Similarly, Botswana can hardly advise Namibia's Sam Nujoma against
running for presidency for a fourth term, the paper says.

"If we do, a
war of words will erupt overnight. We shudder to think what could develop after
the verbal exchanges," Mmegi says.

"We survived this long because we did
not interfere in anybody's affairs... This initiative is a useless exercise that
can only generate resentment and anger within the continent".

The paper
adds that if it is not "politically palatable" for leaders to criticise each
other in an African set-up, then "the peer review is a window dressing that we
do not need".

Plausible move

A more optimistic note is sounded by
Uganda's New Vision, which describes Nepad and its initiative as "more plausible
than previous recovery plans".

Anyone who does not sign is
unlikely to obtain any of the extra aid and investment that Nepad is trying to
attract to the continent

Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique
The paper feels Uganda's support for peer review will also silence
government critics who have accused the government of "slipping back to the dark
days of dictatorship".

"Hopefully critics will take this open-minded
acceptance of peer review as a sign that democratisation is still going forwards
in Uganda, and not backwards as they claim," the pro-government paper remarks.

An opinion writer in Kenya's Daily Nation goes so far as to describe the
Peer Review Mechanism as "a remarkable addition to the usual attempts by African
countries to get donor aid".

The paper says the initiative amounts to a
pledge by African leaders: "We will govern our countries more fairly and
efficiently if you give us lots of money for development projects."

The
Agencia de Informacao de Mocambique also highlights the link to
aid.

"Anyone who does not sign is unlikely to obtain any of the extra aid
and investment that Nepad is trying to attract to the continent," the agency
says.

It quotes the Mozambican government adviser, Firmino Mucavel, as
saying that the Nepad summit came under pressure to turn the peer review
mechanism into a mere assessment of economic performance, "leaving embarrassing
political issues aside".

"But without the political side, it is not
possible to achieve social goals," Mucavel said.

Kenya's People's Daily
disagrees, saying the economy should always be the priority.

Nepad
leaders should "escape the Western obsession with demanding verbalisms like
'democracy' and 'transparency'... and focus on monitoring African economies,"
the paper advises.

As African nations push for a relaxation on ivory
sales, ourcorrespondent reports from Kenya's Tsavo game
park

IT WAS dead of night when the young Somali
poacher finally creptslowly towards the watering hole. The
Kenyan game ranger, crouching low in a nearby ambushposition, stiffened and
tightened his finger round the rifle trigger,straining every sinew for the
slightest clue to his adversary's exactwhereabouts.

When
the poacher switched on his torch to give enough light torefill his water
canister, a single shot rang out, killing him instantly.

The
darkened plains of east Africa erupted into gunfire as thepoacher's three
accomplices fled into the bush, firing indiscriminately atwhere they thought
their pursuers from the Kenya Wildlife Service
werehiding.

"We believe we got the leader. Another was
injured. They werealmost out of the park. The others made it into more
populated areas, andgot away," Danny Woodley, the game warden responsible
for security in Tsavo,an area about the size of Wales,
said.

Hours earlier, the gang had slaughtered a family of
tenelephants, hacking away their faces with axes to gouge out every inch
oftheir precious ivory tusks.

The wildlife service had
been tracking them since they enteredthe park several days earlier, but had
been too far behind to prevent themassacre, the worst single case of
poaching in Kenya for several years.

Mr Woodley, a white
Kenyan, was one of the first to arrive atthe killing site. Some corpses lay
with their feet in the air, others ontheir knees, as though they had died
begging.

"They were like beached whales in pools of crimson
blood,covered in vultures. There were cartridge cases all over the place,"
hesaid.

However, what worried and impressed Mr Woodley
was theprofessional way in which they had been killed: approaching from
downwind,the killer took the matriarch first with a few accurate head shots,
then asthe rest of the confused herd milled around, he finished them
offindividually with just one or two shots to the head.

"This man had killed elephants before. He knew what he wasdoing," Mr Woodley
said. The killer had to get close enough for an accuratehead shot as he was
only armed with a light calibre AK47, he said,emphasising that elephants
have poor sight and experienced trackers can getvery close before they are
sensed.

His suspicions were later confirmed when the dead
poacher wasidentified as one of the killers of elephants in the "ivory wars"
of the1980s. For Mr Woodley, it was just another confirmation that
someone,somewhere, was again buying ivory.

Kenya has
witnessed a sudden surge in poaching over the past 18months that evoked
memories of the late 1970s and 1980s, when huge herdswere
destroyed.

When that slaughter ended in 1989 with a worldwide
ban on thetrade in ivory, Kenya's elephant population had been reduced from
severalhundred thousand to a mere 18,000. Across Africa, the elephant
populationwas halved from 1.3 million to about 600,000.

Now poaching is back and many wildlife experts blame itsincrease on
speculation that controls on the trade in ivory could soon
beliberalised.

More than 20 African governments support
easing the ban to sellup to 87 tonnes of their ivory stocks. The issue will
be reviewed next weekby the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species (Cites).

Kenyan officials say that 81 elephants have
been poached so farthis year, compared to 57 for the whole of last year,
which was itselfdouble that of the previous year.

More
than one third of all Kenya's current elephant populationof about 30,000
roam the plains of Tsavo East game reserve in the northeastof the country, a
remote and traditionally wild area.

Mr Woodley and his aides
first noticed an increase about 18months ago. "We had had several years of
virtually no poaching at all, andthen it started to hit us again," he said.
"There is clearly a market forivory."

About 30 elephants
are known to have been poached in Tsavo thisyear, but the remains of others
in such a vast area may still not be found.

Officials say
that, while the increase in poaching may not bedue to the Cites review, it
shows that there is already a demand for ivory.If the trade in ivory
returns, they say, prices could rise and lead directlyto more poaching,
which non-southern African states are not nearly as wellplaced to
combat.

"The crucial question to ask is: if we have sales
again, willdemand go up and therefore the price?" Esmond Martin, a world
expert in theivory trade, said. "If the price goes up, then we will have an
increase inpoaching. It is as simple as that. Elephants are only killed for
economicreasons."

Mr Martin said that the current price
for African ivory, most ofwhich is now smuggled to illegal carving houses in
China, was about $45(£28.50) per kilo. Poachers got between $7 and
$12.

The former director of the wildlife service, Richard
Leakey, theson of the palaeontologist Louis Leakey, and the man who led the
fightagainst the ivory trade, said: "Today we face a critical moment in
thebattle to save the elephant. This is no time to reintroduce the
trade."

Plea to lift ban

a..
Twenty-two African governments have backed plans to relaxthe 13-year ivory
trade ban and allow South Africa, Botswana, Namibia,Zambia and Zimbabwe to
sell up to 87 tonnes of their ivory stocks.

a.. The issue
will be discussed and voted on next week by theConvention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) in Chile.

a.. The five
southern African countries have demanded a one-offsale of their stockpiled
ivory, and permission to sell a quota of 14 tonnesof ivory every year. They
claim that elephant populations are not threatenedand argue that the sale of
ivory stockpiles will pay for conservationprojects.

a..
Opponents, including Kenya, India and many environmentalgroups, believe any
relaxation will prompt a further increase in poachingand illegal
trade.

a.. There is growing evidence that ivory poaching is
on theincrease in Africa, particularly among the Congo Basin countries of
theDemocratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the Republic of Congo, Gabon,
EquatorialGuinea, Cameroon and the Central African
Republic.

a.. Africa's elephant population is estimated to
have fallenfrom 5 million in the 1930s to about 600,000 today. Most African
ivory issmuggled to China and is estimated to sell for about $45 (£28.50) a
kilo.

ABBY Mgugu, the Director of
Women and Land Lobby in Zimbabwe, sayswomen have not benefited from the
government's land reform exercise despiteconstituting the majority of the
population in the country.

Speaking at a meeting of the
Parliamentary committees on Gender, Land,Justice and Women's caucus
yesterday, Mgugu said only 16 percent ofwomen-headed families had been
resettled by March this year under Model A1farming scheme.

Women constitute 52 percent of the population.

Mgugu said women's
issues were ignored in the accelerated Land Reformand Resettlement
Implementation Plan dubbed the "fast track" programme.

"This
programme is provided for in the 16th Amendment to theConstitution of
Zimbabwe. It does not deal with gender issues at all.

"It has been
difficult for women to compete with men for land underthis programme because
there have been incidents of violence surrounding theprogramme," Mgugu
said.

She said a quota system for the resettlement of women should
have beeninstituted under the fast track land reform programme in order
toaccommodate more women.

She said this is despite the fact
that the government is part andsignatory to several human rights instruments
such as the Beijing Platformof Action and the Convention on the Elimination
of all Forms ofDiscrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

Article
149 (g) of CEDAW states that: "State parties shall take allappropriate
measures to ensure that women shall have equal treatment in landand agrarian
reform and in land resettlement schemes."

Daniel Ncube, chairman of
the parliamentary land committee said womenwere suffering because they were
being discriminated against by men when itcame to land acquisition.
JTA News

AROUND THE JEWISH WORLD Zimbabwe Jews weighing
options as Ashkelon mayor offers them aid By Moira
Schneider

CAPE TOWN, Nov. 8 (JTA) - Zimbabwe's shrinking
and mostly elderlyJewish community has been heartened by an offer from the
mayor of Ashkelonto assist those who settle in the Israeli coastal
city. Michael Mensky, who heads South Africa's Israel Center --
associatedwith the Jewish Agency for Israel and the World Zionist
Organization -conveyed the offer, as well as other aliyah options, at
community gatheringsthis week in Harare and Bulawayo.

Ashkelon
Mayor Benny Vaknin learned of the plight of the Zimbabwecommunity while
attending an aliyah fair in South Africa over Passover.

"He said he
would take their plight as his own and work as a mayor toenhance their
coming to Ashkelon," Mensky told JTA.

Mensky told community leaders
that Israel historically hasdemonstrated its concern for threatened Jewish
communities -- such as thosein Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen and Ethiopia -- and
that Zimbabwe's 600 Jewswould be similarly helped.

Over the
past several years, black "war veterans" have invadedwhite-owned farms in
Zimbabwe and turned out their owners. Hundreds ofthousands of black farm
workers and their families also have been thrown outof their
homes.

The country's economy has deteriorated into massive
unemployment andrunaway inflation, and over 80 percent of the black
population now livesbelow the poverty line. A longstanding drought has
exacerbated the risk ofhunger.

Zimbabwe Jews who move to Israel
will receive an "absorption basket"of financial benefits, Mensky said. He is
lobbying for special recognitionfor them so that housing allowances,
particularly for retired people, may begranted.

"The situation
in Zimbabwe seems to be deteriorating, and we suggestedto the community that
if and when it's time, Israel will be there for them,"Mensky said. "This is
the first time they have been made such an offer."

It's not clear
how many will take Vaknin up on his offer. SomeZimbabwe Jews do not see
Israel as a viable option, others are looking atother destinations and some
believe the situation at home will improve,Mensky said.

While
most are taking a wait-and-see approach, "in light of what'shappening in the
country, I think many are taking this offer very seriously," Mensky said.
"They feel comforted to know that there is somesort of a back-up plan lined
up."

An elderly member of the community, who did not wish to be
identified,said Jews in Zimbabwe indeed were considering their
options.

"We don't know what's happening. We're in an awkward
position - afterall, we've been here all our lives -- and it's not something
that we enjoy,"he said.

Community members "certainly showed
more interest than usual" in theIsraeli offer, the man noted. "And although
the elderly are the last to wantto move, it will be taken up if
necessary."

"For many of us this country has been a 'goldene medina' with itssplendid
climate, friendly people and its opportunities," he said. "Forthose of us
who will leave the country, we shall miss it desperately."

But, he
noted, "what has happened to the white farmers and, indeed, tothe million of
their black farm workers is perhaps the proverbial writing onthe
wall."

Mervyn Smith, chairman of the African Jewish Congress, said
the offerwas "very generous and very helpful. There's no doubt that the
economy andinfrastructure has collapsed in Zimbabwe and if we can help Jews
settle inIsrael, where they will live in safety and comfort, certainly it's
to beencouraged in all respects."

Mensky said he had been
shocked to see long lines for bread andgasoline in Zimbabwe.

"Jewish homes I went to had no milk or bread," he said. "Basicingredients"
are "very hard to come by."

The many elderly members of the
community seem particularly likelycandidates for aliyah, Mensky
said.

"Those who are of pension age and know that their prospects
of growingold in Zimbabwe are very dim would look very seriously at
relocating toIsrael," he said. "A lot of those I met have children in
Israel, and forthem to go and spend time near their families is very
appealing."

But he acknowledged the difficulties.

"These people come from very large homes, and it basically meansgiving up
everything," he said.

The British
government has launched a formal investigation into allegationsthat a white
Zimbabwean businessman - one of the richest men in Britain -has broken UK
and European sanctions by supplying aircraft parts to theZimbabwean air
force.The allegations against the international financier John Bredenkamp
havebeen made in a United Nations report into the "illegal exploitation
ofnatural resources" in the Democratic Republic of Congo, published
lastmonth.

In the past few days both the foreign secretary, Jack
Straw, and the defencesecretary, Geoff Hoon, have confirmed in parliamentary
answers that aninvestigation has been launched. In the first answer to the
Tory MP MichaelAncram, Mr Straw said: "We are aware of allegations of past
arms dealingactivities by Mr John Bredenkamp."

On Monday Mr Hoon told
the Labour MP Paul Farrelly, who accused MrBredenkamp of sanctions-busting
in the Commons in March: "The governmentcertainly takes seriously all
credible reports of misuse or diversion ofUK-exported equipment."

The
UN report says that Mr Bredenkamp, founder of the Ascot-based sportingagency
Masters International, "has a history of clandestine
militaryprocurement".

While Mr Bredenkamp admits he broke sanctions
for the Rhodesian regime ofIan Smith, he denies any sanctions violations
since then. He said in astatement to the Guardian that he took "great
exception to any allegation ofwrongdoing", and described the report as
"hopelessly misleading andinaccurate".

His £720m fortune has placed
him as the 33rd richest person in Britain,according to the Sunday Times Rich
List. He is registered in the UK as adirector of 11 companies.

The
report says he is an active investor in a brokering concern calledAviation
Consultancy Services, which acts as an agent in Africa for majorEuropean
defence contractors, including BAE Systems. BAE Systems supplied 12Hawk jets
to Zimbabwe in the early 1980s, but an arms embargo was imposed onthe
country in May 2000 in protest at the violent treatment of PresidentRobert
Mugabe's opponents. The EU followed suit in February this year.

The UN
report says: "Mr Bredenkamp's representatives claimed that hiscompanies
observed European Union sanctions on Zimbabwe, but BritishAerospace spare
parts for Hawk jets were supplied early in 2002 in breach ofthose
sanctions."

In a lengthy
explanation sent to the Guardian, Mr Bredenkamp's spokesmanagreed that ACS
acted as a broker for Raceview, which reached a generalsupply agreement with
the air force in August 2001. But he said the aircraftspares were
legitimately exported from European manufacturers and not fromBAE Systems or
the UK.

The spokesman enclosed a letter from ACS to the air force in
April this yearsaying that because of the EU embargo two suppliers (whose
names have beenblanked out) had decided to suspend all shipments to
Zimbabwe. The countryhas aircraft from Italy, Spain and
France.

Although BAE Systems acknowledge that ACS is "one of our many
advisers inAfrica" it denies supplying Hawk spares in breach of sanctions.
"We did notsupply any spares to Zimbabwe and we do not believe any were
delivered,because we believe Zimbabwean Hawks are not flying and have not
been for twoyears," Richard Coltart, BAE's head of news, said. "We
investigated theseallegations and made sure we hadn't done anything wrong,
even by accident."

Zimbabwean newspapers have suggested that the Hawk
spares were bought fromKenya.

In reply to the report's allegations
that Mr Bredenkamp's companies hadimproperly exploited Congo's natural
wealth, his spokesman said theconclusions were "either false or inaccurate,
and in context maliciouslydefamatory".

"Many of the statements and
allegations contained in the report aresubstantially at odds with the
considerable information and documentationvoluntarily provided," the
spokesman said.